Section 8, Rent Control, and the New Progressive Property
Abstract
Recent progressive property accounts seek to provide an alternative to what they call the dominant “law-and-economics” approach to property. In place of the law-and-economics approach, these accounts advance a new theoretical approach, which I call “the new progressive property.” At its core, the new progressive property approach favors rules thought to promote the collective well-being of the larger community while ensuring that relatively disadvantaged members of society have access to certain basic resources. This Article explores the boundaries and practical implications of the new progressive property, focusing in particular on its relationship with and implications for the federal Section 8 housing voucher program and local rent control ordinances. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, I argue that Section 8 is a better example of the new progressive property approach than rent control, even though rent control has previously been identified as a practical example of the new progressive property, and Section 8 has not.
In addition, I claim that recent litigation illuminates a deep conflict at the intersection of Section 8 and rent control, which has significant consequences for the new progressive property. In particular, this conflict between rent control and Section 8 provides good reasons to abandon rent control, even from a progressive property perspective. The proper place of tools from the law-and-economics approach within a progressive property framework has, until now, been ambiguous, but the conflict between rent control and Section 8 demonstrates that even the most basic law-and-economics tools must be incorporated into a progressive property framework in order to achieve progressive values and ends. Finally, I conclude that this conflict, and a general comparison of Section 8 and rent control on the grounds of the new progressive property, provide instructive practical examples of the right and wrong way to balance the values and ends that recent progressive property accounts seek to advance.